


The problem with double strawberries

by JJBlue1



Category: Joker Game (Anime)
Genre: M/M, Notes at the end to explain the tons of stuffs I researched for this fic, References to D no Maou, References to the novel version
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-06
Updated: 2017-03-06
Packaged: 2018-09-28 14:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10116158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JJBlue1/pseuds/JJBlue1
Summary: There's a basket of strawberries in D Agency. Written for the #Fallentinevent (prompt: Strawberry)





	

“How do you feel about strawberries, Sakuma-san?”

The question, made by Miyoshi as he studied with a critical look one of the many strawberries in the basket that lied in front of a Kappōgi apron clad Fukumoto, left Sakuma completely confused. What was Miyoshi up now?

“In which regard?” he asked tentatively. He got a _‘don’t be dense’_ glare but, at least, Miyoshi refrained from voicing his thoughts.

“I’m preparing strawberry cake,” Fukumoto, bless the man, began to explain. “And some people have… singular reactions when eating strawberries. Rashes, itching, throat tightness, nausea, congestion…” he began to list.

“Hum, no, never experienced something like that while eating strawberries so far.”

Miyoshi made a noncommittal sound and slowly and gracefully bit into the strawberry he was holding. Sakuma knew, from past experiences, that the wise thing to do now, was not to look at him. Looking at him would cause Sakuma to get ideas that an Imperial soldier wasn’t allowed to have. So he shifted his gaze on Fukumoto who, of course, was acting like nothing out of the ordinary was happening… but well, among the Lieutenant Colonel’s students, Fukumoto was the best at acting like nothing worth being noticed was happening in front of him, to the point that even the others weren’t sure if it was an act or Fukumoto was really not paying attention.

“So… how come we’re having a western cake?”

“Miyoshi’s idea,” Fukumoto replies succinctly, slightly motioning with his head toward Miyoshi. All right, Sakuma amended, it was a poor plan to try and have a conversation with Fukumoto as he was definitely not the chatty type. This meant now he would have to either retreat or turn toward the guy who was turning taking a tiny bite of strawberry into a fine show of seduction. All right, he was a trained soldier, he could handle this.

“Well?” he began, turning to Miyoshi who, to his surprise, was mercifully letting the half eaten strawberry be.

“Why not? Don’t you like strawberries?” Miyoshi countered, offering him one, in that totally disinterested tone that, Sakuma had learnt, he used only when he was actually interested in something.

“I like them,” he admitted effortlessly seeing no harm in telling the truth as he accepted the small fruit and popped it whole into his mouth. Miyoshi didn’t seem happy with his way to eat it but didn’t comment. He probably knew better than to expect Sakuma to play his same game. “I think they’ll do well as Daifuku filling,” he added then. Miyoshi made a face, evidently not appreciating his suggestion.

“Daifuku filling? It might be tried,” Fukumoto volunteered, maybe a tad too eagerly for his own character. Sakuma tossed him a questioning glance.

“I’ve bought the strawberries and I want a Meringata,” Miyoshi stated sounding clearly annoyed before snatching another strawberry and eating it. Fukumoto sighed. Sakuma figured that Fukumoto didn’t exactly go into this willingly. Probably there was involved a bet or something like that and likely there was no way to pull Fukumoto out of this, therefore it was better not to pry. Still, there was something Sakuma wanted to know that he believed was innocent enough to ask.

“What’s a Merin… Merin…” Damn, the weird word was escaping him.

“Meringata. It’s a cake popular in France, Switzerland and Italy. You make it with two discs of meringues, crème Chantilly and fruits. Strawberries in our case,” Miyoshi explained raising one as if to show it and then handing it as well to Sakuma. Sakuma accepted the fruit, though Miyoshi’s explanation about the cake didn’t really tell much to him, as he wasn’t really familiar with western desserts.

“I think that, of all that you mentioned, I only know strawberries,” he admitted. Miyoshi sighed, grumbling something about how Sakuma’s western dishes knowledge was seriously lacking but pushed slightly the basket of strawberries toward him in a silent invitation as to keep on serving himself from it as he began to explain.

“Crème Chantilly or whipped cream is cream whipped with a whisk until it is light and fluffy then it’s sweetened and, if you like it, flavoured with vanilla.” Miyoshi tossed him a dubious glance. “You know what cream is, don’t you?”

Sakuma nodded as he moved closer and chewed one of the offered strawberries, deciding not to take offence at Miyoshi’s question. After all he’d been the first to admit he knew little about foreign foods.

“Good,” Miyoshi commented, spending twenty more minutes digging into details about the history of this type of cream before deciding that he could move to the next topic.

“Meringues instead are a type of dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar, and occasionally some other ingredients and…” Fukumoto sighed quietly as Miyoshi, as expected, now started losing himself in details about the whole _‘meringue’_ business, apparently looking pleased that Sakuma-san was listening instead than complaining about how he tended to give out a lot of unnecessary information as everyone else in the building, Yūki-san included, used to do. Fukumoto saw Sakuma-san merely leaning on the counter as he listened, making himself more comfortable but apparently planning to stay through the whole of Miyoshi’s excessively detailed explanation when everyone else would either tell Miyoshi to shut up or search for a way to leave.

It wasn’t the first time it happened. As long as Miyoshi weren’t to say something that the man would consider blasphemy or offensive, Sakuma-san had no problems to play the role of willing audience for Miyoshi’s endless expositions.

It has to be love, Hatano has said, deaf love opposed to blind love, as only someone who was in _‘deaf love’_ could handle listening to Miyoshi’s overly accurate explanations without getting fed up.

It was probably love, Fukumoto decided as he stared at the two, though not of the type Hatano has suspected. Sakuma-san wasn’t just staring at Miyoshi, he was paying attention. He seemed to honestly enjoy listening to Miyoshi’s overly long expositions. It wasn’t that, due to love, he was glossing over how Miyoshi could go on and on, Sakuma-san was drawn by this side of Miyoshi.

It was cute, in a way, and it seemed to affect Miyoshi as well as he would, as usual, start exposing this in his normal _‘I’m so much more knowledgeable than you’_ tone but then he too would relax somehow, his tone softening and his smile getting more genuine as his exposition would stop being a show off of the huge amount of random things he knew and become more focused on sharing knowledge that could interest Sakuma-san. Even though it would remain mostly a monologue, now it wasn’t anymore one aimed to show off but one aimed at entertaining the person listening to it.

Sadly Fukumoto couldn’t say he enjoyed the whole discussion as much as Sakuma-san seemed to do. Actually he wouldn’t mind if Miyoshi were to keep his little lesson about sweets some other place.

“Anyway meringue comes in three types, French, Swiss and Italian and…”

“And Miyoshi had to request the Italian one,” Fukumoto decided to interject, careful to sound displeased and knowing the interruption would annoy Miyoshi.

“Is it bad?” Sakuma asked him, confused. It wouldn’t be like Miyoshi to ask for an unsavoury food but…

“Of course not,” Miyoshi stated, sounding affronted at the mere implication he could have requested a poorly tasting food. “Fukumoto is just being difficult.”

“It’s the Italian meringue that’s difficult and I’ve never tried it before,” Fukumoto pointed out in a deadpan tone. Miyoshi looked unimpressed but it wasn’t Miyoshi’s response what Fukumoto was trying to get.

“I’m sure you’ll do a wonderful job with it, Fukumoto,” Sakuma-san offered with a supportive smile, to which Fukumoto replied with warm words of thanks, careful to look as he hadn’t noticed at all how, predictably, Miyoshi glared at them both. It seemed Miyoshi’s teacher never quite managed to teach him to share someone’s attention at kindergarten and he wasn’t handling well how Fukumoto just stole Sakuma-san’s from him. Amusing. Not that Fukumoto let his true feelings show.

“Anyway I was talking about meringues,” Miyoshi cut in, his tone clearly annoyed. Sakuma-san turned toward him, looking amused by how Miyoshi had decided, for once, to be very transparent in expressing his annoyance.

“Yes, you were,” he still agreed, as if he hadn’t had enough of Miyoshi’s chattering about foods he previously didn’t even know they existed. Still the fond way he smiled to Miyoshi wasn’t like the way he smiled to anyone else in the Agency. It would almost make Fukumoto feel guilty he had interrupted the moment between the two of them, if the serious risk of Miyoshi resuming his boring monologue weren’t looming on him.

“Well, I hate to intrude in your conversation,” he smoothly lied in his most sincere tone. “But if you two keep on eating strawberries while talking, we won’t have any more left for the Meringata… unless you two plan to go buying more?” He didn’t even try to be subtle at how he wanted them out of the way, knowing it would be easier to free himself from their presence if Sakuma-san were to catch the hint. Sakuma-san was way more willing to humour others when asked politely than Miyoshi would ever be. Besides he was even being generous with Miyoshi, offering him the chance to have a _‘date’_ with the man with the excuse to buy more strawberries.

Miyoshi’s glare toward Fukumoto for this new interruption smoothly turned into a questioning glance in Sakuma-san’s direction as, evidently, he wouldn’t mind going out to… buy more strawberries.

Sakuma-san though, didn’t react as they both had hoped.

“Actually I’m supposed to meet up with some friends in a while…” he confessed in an apologetic tone. “Sorry about the strawberries… I guess I got carried away. Do you still have enough?”

“They’ll suffice,” Fukumoto stated. Miyoshi’s expression was carefully neutral, concealing so perfectly his disappointment that, hadn’t Fukumoto known better, he would have said the man was fine with this sort of development.

“Friends from the Army?” he asked merely. “Or it’ll be just Mikoshiba-san and Kasukabe-san?” he added, tossing in the names of Sakuma-san’s two best friends from the Army.

“It’ll be a bunch of old companions from the Academy time,” he confirmed, sounding genuinely happy at the prospect to meet up with them. “Which means Kazu will be there as well, of course.”

“Of course,” Miyoshi agreed smoothly. He likely knew this meant he couldn’t just self invite in a reunion of Academy friends. Still Fukumoto saw the two of them exchange a glance and Sakuma-san hesitating for a moment as if actually he had been tempted to invite Miyoshi anyway before turning his gaze away and letting it fall on the basket of strawberries from which he fished up what looked like… well, two strawberries fused together.

“That’s… an unusual shape…” he commented.

“Oh? It seems you found a double strawberry,” Fukumoto stated.

“You aren’t going to put _‘that’_ on my Meringata,” Miyoshi stated, evidently finding that the not perfect shape of the double strawberry wasn’t fit for his cake even if he and Fukumoto both knew it would just taste the same as the other strawberries.

“Is it supposed to be not good?” Sakuma-san asked curiously.

“It tastes same as the others. I just don’t like its lack of symmetry,” Miyoshi informed him.

“So, Sakuma-san, it seems you got yourself a _‘last treat’_ ,” Fukumoto commented, basically inviting him to eat the fruit. Sakuma looked at the double strawberry. Well, it surely had taken a shape it wasn’t supposed to have. Lack of symmetry, uh? Wasn’t the taste what truly mattered?

He ripped the strawberry in two halves, eaten one and offered the other to Miyoshi.

“It’s unfair if I’m the only one to get a last bite. Strawberries promoted righteousness in Europe, don’t they? So let’s share.” Miyoshi gave him a complicate glance but then accepted the proffered fruit.

“Sorry to burst your bubble but strawberries are actually considered an aphrodisiac in Europe,” he stated before eating it with an amused grin. Sakuma-san’s expression immediately turned into one of dismay.

“ **WHAT?** You’re making fun of me!” the man protested. Miyoshi just grinned and slowly chewed his half of that double strawberry.

“It’s true, Sakuma-san,” Fukumoto confirmed at which Sakuma groaned.

“The Colonel is a glutton for them!” the man confessed. “He eats baskets of them in his office!”

Miyoshi laughed openly at that. Fukumoto tried hard not to.

“Well, talk about desperate… though I don’t think that they can help him much…” Miyoshi commented trying to stop chuckling.

Sakuma-san gave Miyoshi a sullen glance that clearly spelled out _‘you don’t even get a half of my troubles’_ , which only caused Miyoshi to laugh more.

“I think I’ll better be going,” he muttered, still sounding crossed.

“I’ll see you later. If you come back early I might save some of the Meringata for you if you’ll feel up on trying it,” Miyoshi offered and chuckled some more as he got another sullen look from Sakuma-san before the man left the room.

“The last bit was uncalled for, Miyoshi,” Fukumoto had to point out once the man had left. “Strawberries were also used to represent righteousness in Europe, as I’m sure you know… and he was trying to be nice.”

“Sakuma-san is dense as hell,” Miyoshi stated, sobering up abruptly.

“He has to be, otherwise he couldn’t possibly like you,” Fukumoto agreed, which got him a glare. “If sharing that strawberry was meant to be a fair gesture, why not doing it with me? I hadn’t gotten a single one,” he went on. “And you know what they say about sharing strawberries in a half.”

Miyoshi knew of course about the silly belief that, sharing double strawberries would lead people to fall in love. Not that he believed in such a ridiculous thing but it would have been nice if Sakuma-san had believed in it. Miyoshi though was pretty sure Sakuma-san didn’t even know about this story so…

“Which is meaningless if he doesn’t know about it. He can’t get a hint not even when I wave it under his nose. Who cares if the Colonel eats strawberries?” Miyoshi left the _‘I was the one sharing them with him’_ unsaid, but it was clear enough.

“He’s doing you a favour, you know. Not only he’s a soldier and therefore even more not supposed to consider this sort of things but **WE** also aren’t supposed to get too close to people. You’re courting troubles, Miyoshi.”

Fukumoto knew firsthand how painful it could be carelessly allowing yourself to get too close to someone and then… and he even hadn’t gotten close with that person as Miyoshi wanted to get close with Sakuma-san. Like Miyoshi though, Fukumoto had carelessly let things go too far, become addicted to someone’s presence before being abruptly reminded that wasn’t a luxury in which he was allowed to indulge.

“Don’t be silly now. I’m not searching for commitment but I see nothing wrong in me and Sakuma-san having a little fun together. I know how to handle this sort of things and Yūki-san had never demanded from us to stay celibate. Amari sleeps with a different woman each week. We can do the same if we want to,” as he said so Miyoshi gazed at him pointedly. Fukumoto had the distinct impression it was a jab at how he had never tried to get physically close to Odagiri. Despite not really getting along with Odagiri, Miyoshi had been dissatisfied when the other had decided to drop, and had subtly blamed Fukumoto for not stopping him. As if Fukumoto ever had any influence in what Odagiri decided to do. Even though he was the closest to him… in the end Odagiri had always decided things by himself and so… Fukumoto didn’t want to think at that though.

“You know, Miyoshi, knowing Sakuma-san I don’t think he’s one to do things halfway.”

Yes, with Sakuma-san it was probably either commitment or nothing at all. He was clearly this sort of person.

“Well, since so far he isn’t doing a thing I’ll say this is a good hint he’s not that interested in me, so all your worries are pointless and anyway the matter is none of your business.”

“Then, next time, do not flirt with him under my nose,” Fukumoto commented without bothering to look at him. “Besides, I saw how he looked at you when he thought it was _‘safe enough’_ to look at you. If it’s just fun what you’re searching Miyoshi, let him be and find someone else. It’ll be better for the both of you.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Miyoshi stated with utter annoyance before leaving the room. Fukumoto sighed. No, Fukumoto didn’t think Miyoshi knew what he was getting himself into because Fukumoto didn’t only see the way Sakuma-san looked at Miyoshi but also the way Miyoshi looked back at him. It was probably a good thing Sakuma-san was playing on the safe side and not letting this get too far.

* * *

“Tomo. You’re spacing out.” The hushed warning startled him and Sakuma realized it was true, he was so lost in his own thoughts he had completely stopped paying attention to what was going out around him. He met up Kazu’s worried gaze with an apologetic smile.

“Sorry. I guess you’re right,” he admitted in an equally low tone, trying not to interrupt the others’ happy chatting. Not that Kazu would content himself with such a small explanation. They knew each other from… basically when they were born, their mothers having been best friends so they could tell when the other had something up in his mind. Which was a good thing in Sakuma’s books, because it was almost like having a twin brother… one in whom he could blindly trust and talk about everything… though the downside of it was that he was a bit reluctant at pushing his troubles on Kazu’s shoulders, not because he didn’t trust him but because as the… slightly older brother (few hours really) he was supposed to protect him, not to trouble him.

“It’s just I’ve been told that the sight of strawberries work as an aphrodisiac,” was all Sakuma felt like sharing, with a long suffering glance. For a second he saw a mix of worry and disgust cross the other’s face before Kazu shook his head.

“That’s bullshit,” Kazu dismissed in the firmest tone he could muster, even though he couldn’t wipe completely the shadow of doubt from it. “Come on, we saw the Colonel Mutō eating them dozens of times and none of us got turned on. Right? He wasn’t even eating them in an enticing manner, just gobbling them down. It was disgusting.”

Sakuma nodded then his memory went back to someone else, someone who knew how to eat strawberries in an enticing manner… and he pushed that thought aside hurriedly.

“Right,” he agreed. “With the Colonel it was disgusting. Maybe they just don’t work on _‘him’_...” he commented, leaning his head in his hand.

“On him, uh?” his best friend echoed, catching the nuance he used to say the last word. “Are you thinking to _‘someone’_ in particular who makes them work? Because if it’s just _‘someone’_ in particular I’ll say it’s more like it’s that _‘someone’s’_ fault than the strawberries’.” He saw Kazu smiling as he said so, but that wasn’t a teasing smile. It was the smile his best friend used for him when he thought he had reasons to be happy for him. Sadly this was completely inappropriate considering the situation.

Yet, it was exactly because Kazu was so supportive regardless of everything and would remain as such no matter what, that he could tell him what he normally didn’t even dare to think about.

“Ne, Kazu, do you ever had something you want badly but can’t and yet you still want it to the point you start thinking if you’ll keep on wanting it so badly, it’ll be the dead of you so you’ll better let it go as soon as you can only it’s easier said than done?”

He saw Kazu blinking as he absorbed the confused mess Sakuma tried to explain him then his smile turned into a serious expression.

“It depends. Does this _‘something’_ have two legs or a blade?” he asked and Sakuma couldn’t help but smile at that. Only his best friend would consider he might be talking about a sword.

“Probably it’s fair to say this _‘something’_ has both. A living Yawarakai-Te.”

“The Yawarakai-Te?” Kazu whistled, knowing perfectly well how such a sword existed in legends only and Sakuma thought it was nice to get to talk to someone who… talked his same language for a chance. Spending so much time with the Lieutenant Colonel’s students made him feel as if he were living in a foreign land surrounded by people speaking only the Gods knew what.

“Jeez, Tomo, if you’ve to go for something legendary, why not the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi itself? At least that one is supposed to exist… somewhere. Or so they say.”

“Of course it exists, His Majesty the Emperor saw it when He ascended to the throne!” Sakuma protested immediately.

“That’s beyond the point,” Mikoshiba Kazuya dismissed readily the other’s complain knowing it would be useless to discuss with Tomo about it. Not that Mikoshiba thought the Emperor might be lying about having seen the sword… but some rat might have lied at the Emperor and showed him a replica or something. That sword was supposed to have gone lost by… almost a century after all. If they made a replica short after the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi was lost… well, they could pull out the deception pretty easily. Not that Tomo would ever hear any of this.

“Really, Tomo, couldn’t you chose something a tad less difficult like the Honjo? Sure, we just made it a national treasure but well…” Mikoshiba sighed. Why, with Tomo, things were never simple? He would have been happy if Tomo had found someone he liked… but from the way the other had put it, it would be all but simple… Mikoshiba let his head fall in his hands. “Really, just like you to choose something like that. You’re screwed, you know? Knowing you, you’ll never dare to touch something like that, not even if it was tossed in your lap.”

“I’m screwed,” Sakuma agreed effortlessly. “And anyway I think the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi is more fitting to represent the Lieutenant Colonel so…”

“Whoever cares about that. Stop distancing yourself from the problem at hands. This is a serious discussion,” Kazu cut him.

“It’s not really a discussion. You know as well as me. Nobody can own the Yawarakai-Te. So longing for it is pointless.”

“People can’t own it because it doesn’t exist. But if they were to find it, trust me, they’ll sell their souls to own it. So you should just…”

“I’m just an Imperial soldier,” Sakuma interrupted him quietly. “Such fine sword isn’t fit for someone like me. Besides, in this life I’m sworn to Japan’s cause, not my own, and probably soon I’ll be sent on the frontlines so it’s just a matter of holding on for a little longer. Maybe, in the next life, I’ll have more luck. Or the one after it. Or the one that will come after.”

“Are you going to waste your next seven reincarnations longing for it as well?” Mikoshiba asked, frowning. He didn’t like where this was going, he didn’t like the subtle implication Tomo not only expected to be sent on the frontlines but also to never come back from them but he knew better than to discuss it. He had no idea on what exactly Colonel Mutō had assigned him, beyond that it was some sort of state secret that gave Tomo endless problems, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the Colonel, to make sure it would remain a state secret, were to end up on sacrificing whoever knew about it, even if it was someone like Tomo, who’ll gladly die without a second thought before revealing something he deemed a _‘secret’_.

“That’s the plan, Kazu. Besides… if one day I were to get it… it won’t be a waste.” Tomo’s gaze was lost faraway, to a future he couldn’t see but that hoped existed somewhere, in the ripples of time.

Mikoshiba sighed.

“Fine, have it your way. It’s dumb but do it as you prefer as that’s exactly what you’ll do anyway. Just mark my words, in our next life, as soon as I’ll do so much as to have the feeling you’ve got that troublesome Yawarakai-Te so much as vaguely close to you, I’ll send you so many strawberries neither of you will manage to keep his hands off of the other even if it were to cost me a whole month of my pay!” he stated. “And now let’s drink. I decided I want to get plastered.”

“What? You’re **ALSO** an Imperial soldier, this wouldn’t be fit…”

* * *

“You’re late, Sakuma-san,” Miyoshi pointed out, seeing him pass through the door of the Greater East Asia Cultural Society. Well, it wasn’t that late, really, but for Sakuma-san’s standards, it was definitely unusual to come back at that time unless something work related came up. “Kaminaga ended up having the time to finish all that remained of the Meringata.”

“Sorry about it. Kazu decided it was a good day to get plastered. Someone had to take him back and make sure he wouldn’t get himself in troubles,” Sakuma-san explained with a tired groan.

“Why didn’t you follow his example and got yourself drunk as well?”

“An Imperial soldier shouldn’t indulge in excessive drinking,” he replied gruffly. Miyoshi had the strong feeling Sakuma-san had been the only one who hadn’t indulged in excessive drinking during that meeting but kept it for himself.

“Well, since you’re not drunk, you could come with us. You know, to make sure **WE** wouldn’t get ourselves in troubles or something,” he offered.

“Thanks but I’ll pass. I’m worn out. Maybe next time,” the man refused as usual. For once though, Miyoshi didn’t feel like accepting it graciously.

“Will there be a _‘next time’_ someday, Sakuma-san? Because I’m getting tired to hear you saying always the same thing.”

“Someday,” Sakuma-san stated and he wasn’t the type to lie. Only this _‘someday’_ kept on being _‘some other day’_ and it was starting to get… annoying, like having waved under his nose something he wanted and then being told he couldn’t touch it.

“Have a good night, Miyoshi.” Sakuma-san said as he resumed walking. Miyoshi felt Sakuma-san resting his hand on his shoulder before beginning to walk past him, evidently deeming the discussion closed. It wasn’t a big deal, Miyoshi told himself. Of course there would always be _‘another day’_ and he wasn’t one to give up easily.

He wondered why though, it annoyed him so much how Sakuma-san had no problems spending time with his friends, but it was always so damn hard to get him to go out with them. Maybe it was all a matter of wounded pride. Miyoshi didn’t like to come second, he mused as he unconsciously rubbed the point where Sakuma-san had rested his hand. Even though he’d been outside… that man’s hand had been warm. And even though he was sort of rough… still his touch felt kind of nice. Odd. Maybe things were odd with Sakuma-san though and Miyoshi wasn’t sure he’ll ever manage to figure the man out one day but well, he found interesting to keep on trying. It wasn’t like he had better things to do, or so he told himself.

* * *

It was better this way, Sakuma told himself again as he reached the dormitory. The others would have more fun without him around and he… he would have less temptations. Even though Miyoshi’s sentence had successfully made him feel guilty… and this was probably the sole reason for which Miyoshi had said it, he was sure of that.

Really, sometimes he’d like to know which sort of game Miyoshi was playing. Because for Miyoshi as well it should be better if the two of them were to keep a _‘professional only’_ relationship. Maybe Miyoshi only wanted some fun… possibly at Sakuma’s expenses. It was so hard to guess what went in his mind… which was part of what made him alluring, Sakuma guessed. Though it was much easier to interact with predictable people… well, apparently he wasn’t born to like easy things.

No, it probably wasn’t that. After all everyone here was impossible to figure out for him, it wasn’t like Miyoshi stood out in some special way and yet… he did. He sighed. He was tired so he probably was merely thinking nonsense. He should just go to bed and… and it was then he noticed it.

A slice of a white, western looking cake adorned with strawberries. It was pretty, the sort of thing that would please Miyoshi’s aesthetical taste. Fukumoto really overdid himself.

But then why had he told him nothing remained?

Was it someone else who had saved it for him? Fukumoto maybe? No, even if someone had tried to… well, Miyoshi would have known for sure.

So why did Miyoshi deliberately lied to him? Sakuma wasn’t sure. Maybe he just didn’t want Sakuma to use the cake as an excuse to turn down his invitation… or it was Miyoshi’s idea to complain because Sakuma had gotten back late. Or something else, really. He sighed and tried to dismiss the though because he didn’t want to spend another night trying to figure out what was going in Miyoshi’s head.

Besides… was that cake eatable? Or Miyoshi had deliberately altered it in one of his own twisted ideas for a _‘funny’_ joke? No, it had to be eatable, Fukumoto would kill Miyoshi if he were to harm something he’d prepared, especially since it took him effort to prepare it. It had to be eatable.

Ultimately, Miyoshi had saved him a slice. He sighed again and tried not to have another moment of utter insanity in which he ended up considering that Miyoshi could have a cute side. Besides Miyoshi probably wouldn’t like to be defined as such and would throw a fuss or something. Sakuma chuckled and tried to tell himself that no, he didn’t want to see Miyoshi reaction at being defined as such. Trying to tell such thing in his face would probably be suicidal. Though maybe it would be worth it.

So… what was going to do, he asked himself as he picked up the plate containing the cake and stared at it.

All right, even if strawberries definitely didn’t work with the Colonel… they actually seemed to work with _‘someone else’_.

Someday… someday he’d like to be free to say _‘yes’_ to one of Miyoshi’s invitations. He’ll have to probably wait for his next life… but he was sure it was going to be worth the wait.

* * *

Miyoshi tried not to frown as, after being left inside Sakuma-san’s apartment, discovered the man was actually busy talking at his cell phone. Bad timing, apparently, he mused as he retrieved his slippers from the man’s Getabako. Well, Sakuma-san had hurriedly told him it shouldn’t take long so maybe it won’t. Still, it would have been nicer if, when he got there, he’d been the only thing the man had focused on. Let’s hope that, at least, Sakuma-san didn’t have other obligations for that evening. He’d like to get him to come out with him… and possibly with Kaminaga and the others. After having to deal with Kaminaga repeating him over and over for most of his life that no one would manage to last with him for more than two weeks, he liked to rub on Kaminaga’s face he now was in a stable relationship.

“What do you mean _‘you followed a sudden impulse’_?” he heard Sakuma-san asking in dismay to the person he was speaking at. From the tone he used it didn’t seem a work related phone call so he was likely speaking with one of his friends. “Which sort of sudden impulse might have pushed you to do _‘this’_?”

Miyoshi had no idea what the other’s reply had been or what _‘this’_ was but he figured it was connected to how Sakuma-san seemed to think is house was in disarray more than it was usually… which would be interesting if true because, despite Sakuma-san’s worries, so far each time Miyoshi had visited he’d never found something out of place. The place was always perfectly clean and somewhat too bare for Miyoshi’s tastes.

Basically the only _‘ornament’_ that existed in that house was a sword stand exposing a Katana, a Wakizashi and a Tantō, which, Miyoshi knew, were valuable. Oh and Sakuma-san had books… which were all placed in order in the library. Sakuma-san kept no animals, had no plants or paintings nor he exposed photos. Once Miyoshi had joked that, if someone were to try and break in Sakuma-san’s apartment undetected, the man would realize about it because the poor guy would unfailingly end up disturbing the order of the place or leave some dirt on the floor.

So, more out of curiosity than anything else, Miyoshi went to search for whatever might be out of place.

As Sakuma watched Miyoshi walk through his house as if he owned the place, he felt like banging his head on the wall. Of all the times in which Miyoshi had to decide to drop by unannounced he had to pick up the time in which Kazu…

Predictably, Miyoshi stopped in front of the kitchen’s door, eyes widening slightly in surprise before he went inside the room, an amused smile on his lips. Sakuma, still busy trying to get an explanation that made sense from Kazu, followed him and felt like sighing again as he stared at the impossible amount of strawberry baskets Kazu had managed to pile in his kitchen. They didn’t cover just the table but also the rest of the furniture.

“I’m confiscating the keys of my house which I gave you, that’s it,” he told Kazu in exasperation, which caused Miyoshi to turn at him and then start chuckling. Kazu went on rambling but, for a moment, Sakuma stopped paying him attention, just staring at the other person in the room. He never quite knew if Miyoshi was laughing with him or at him and, while a side of him felt uncomfortable at being the subject of the other’s amusement, the other was just glad to see Miyoshi being amused by something as if it was some sort of luxury he wasn’t supposed to indulge in… which was silly considering the relation they were in and how nothing was supposed to get in between them. Still…

He frowned, tried to focus back on the conversation he was having with Kazu.

“What do you expect me to do with all this? They won’t fit in my fridge!” he protested. “What do you mean _‘they’re good so I can eat them’_? It’s out of question! Nobody could eat so many strawberries and live to tell it!” Really, sometimes he had no idea what Kazu was thinking and if it wasn’t they’d grown up together…

He raised his eyes just in that moment to see that Miyoshi had washed some strawberries and was… serving himself. It wasn’t like he was eating them in some sort of particularly tempting way and yet… Sakuma blinked as a different memory superimposed on the scene in front of him… no, not a memory, it was the first time he saw Miyoshi eating strawberries so… a déjà vu maybe? Yet… Yet…

“All right, I’ll manage something, see you,” Miyoshi heard Sakuma-san saying, the taste of the strawberry still lingering in his mouth, and the satisfaction at the thought that finally he would have the man for himself sort of washed away the senseless nostalgic and sort of bittersweet feeling eating strawberries always seemed to summon inside him.

He didn’t expect Sakuma-san to hug him though, the way one would hug someone he’d missed for months. It was nice to be hold like that, like someone dear and precious, someone one couldn’t give up to anyone else and he too felt as if he’d been missing him for months… even if they met just yesterday. Sakuma-san’s lips found his own and Miyoshi clung to him as he kissed back with equal passion.

_‘Warm… warm and welcoming… safe… mine,’_ he thought, his arms securely wrapped around the man’s neck, _‘all mine, you’re all mine and I’m not going to let you go ever again…’_ Not that he ever had to let go of him but…

The kiss ended a bit too soon for his taste, leaving him unsatisfied and disappointed but he thought they could work on it. They were still holding each other after all, Sakuma-san’s body a warm presence against his, and they were close enough their breaths were mingling together and… and saw Sakuma-san giving him a confused gaze, as if he were surprised of what he’d done, as if he’d just followed a sudden impulse without even realizing it.

“Sorry. Hum… I…”

Sorry? What was there to be sorry about?

“Sakuma-san. Do I look like I’m considering doing something as stupid as complaining?” he asked. Sakuma-san stared at him.

“Not really,” he admitted.

“Good because you know, I didn’t mind it, quite the contrary. You should do it more often,” he assured, his fingers trailing on Sakuma-san’s neck. “I only would like to know what brought it up.” _‘So as to make sure I’ll exploit it to my heart content,’_ he thought but didn’t say.

Sakuma-san… always seemed to hold back around him. Miyoshi wasn’t sure why, it wasn’t like Miyoshi was playing hard to get, actually he tried making his invitations as clear as possible and yet Sakuma-san always seemed… unsure if he was allowed to get close to him, as if he were seeing Miyoshi as someone sort of off limit for him. Well, of course Miyoshi was the best thing that ever happened in his life so maybe it was natural for Sakuma-san to be a little intimidated by him… but that didn’t really seemed to be the problem… and, yes, the type of relationship they had was frowned upon… but Sakuma-san wasn’t the type to worry about this sort of things and even had past lovers (none at Miyoshi’s level, Miyoshi had checked and made sure no one from Sakuma-san’s past could come back and have a chance at competing with him, still with them Sakuma-san hadn’t hold back) so Miyoshi was clueless on why this was happening.

“The… strawberries, I think? I…” Sakuma frowned, trying to make sense of something that looked like an old memory and failing. It was something he remembered and yet… he did not. “I think… I’ve been told that the sight of them can work as an aphrodisiac…”

Miyoshi blinked, then couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s not the sight, it’s eating them. They contain vitamin C, magnesium, potassium and folate, you know…” he informed him, resting his head on Sakuma-san’s shoulder and inhaling his scent. To be honest he had considered going for a long explanation but dismissed the idea. There were better things he wanted to do with Sakuma-san than talk about strawberries and the effects they could have were you to eat them. “Would you like to try if it works, Sakuma-san?”

“I…” Sakuma-san looked at him, that sort of gaze that seemed to see only Miyoshi, that seemed to long only for him the way none had ever longed for him. He rested his hand on Miyoshi’s cheek, his thumb trailing on Miyoshi’s lower lip and Miyoshi considered taking it in his mouth when…

“I’ll take your word for it,” Sakuma-san merely replied, before looking away, his hand leaving him. “Sorry… I probably should place somewhere those strawberries and…” Miyoshi frowned as he felt the hold around himself loosening.

“Sakuma-san. Don’t you dare. Maybe you just watched them but I’ve eaten them, you know?” he pointed out pulling the other closer. “Shouldn’t you do something about this?” Miyoshi carefully faked the pouting expression against which he knew Sakuma-san was the weakest.

The man studied him only a moment, his gaze lost somehow… then frowned, the way he did when he was trying to make sense of things and in the end shook his head, as if to chase a thought that made no sense. Something was up with him but Miyoshi had no idea what.

“You…” Sakuma-san began then lowered his head a bit and there was only a moment of hesitation before he simply resumed kissing him. It was a mere brush of lips, but then he kissed him again, and again and each time it lingered a bit more, each time it was a little more hungry and Miyoshi wasn’t quite sure how he ended with his back pressed against the wall, both their pants undone and one of his leg half wrapped around Sakuma-san as he tried to pull himself up at the man’s same height. They had never done it against a kitchen wall but Miyoshi wasn’t adverse to experimenting new things.

“Hey… we aren’t doing this against the kitchen wall,” Sakuma-san stated, pausing only a moment before resuming on kissing his neck.

“Why not?” Miyoshi protested as he freed the man from his tie.

“You’ll never let me live it down the discomfort it’ll cause you.” Miyoshi was about to argue he could put up with it when Sakuma-san added something that had a lot more weight in his books. “And we might probably end up staining your clothes.”

Of course the problem weren’t the clothes per se, Miyoshi could always buy others, but the fact that, when Miyoshi would have to leave Sakuma-san’s house, he would be forced to do it in stained clothes as he hadn’t others with himself and Sakuma-san’s wouldn’t fit him and this wasn’t acceptable at all.

“I knew there was a reason why I refuse to break up with you,” Miyoshi commented, before doing his best to leave a very evident hickey on Sakuma-san’s neck. Better mark his own property so no one would get ideas, besides he liked how Sakuma-san, differently from Kaminaga, didn’t feel the need to point out how it was normally Miyoshi’s past lovers who had ended up breaking up with him, unable to put up with Miyoshi’s narcissism, his sense of aesthetic, his penchant for criticizing everything, his excessively nitpicky and bossy behaviour, his cynicism, his expensive food tastes, his unpleasant jokes and his habit to talk about unnecessary things and so on. To Sakuma-san, those tiny little details didn’t seem to matter. There was to say though that Miyoshi was trying to contain himself when with Sakuma-san. Just a bit. But it was the thought that mattered.

“Bedroom?” Miyoshi asked then, before pulling himself up and wrapping both legs around Sakuma-san, enjoying the friction between their bodies the motion caused.

“Bedroom,” the other agreed. On a second though Miyoshi decided he didn’t really care about going out to meet the others that evening. He was totally satisfied with keeping Sakuma-san all for himself. Also, he made a personal mental note to thank Mikoshiba-san for the strawberries and to make sure to always keep a supply at hand since they definitely seem to have a positive effect on Sakuma-san.

* * *

**JJ's Notes:**

**1\. Kappōgi (割烹着 literally “cooking wear”):** Apron Japanese style.

**2\. Strawberries and Daifuku:** As of now Daifuku with strawberry filling are popular but back in Joker Game time they apparently weren’t made yet.

**3\. Sakuma and sweets:** I’m assuming Sakuma is Japanese cooking oriented hence he’s not really familiar with western sweets.

**4\. Miyoshi and Meringata:** in the live action movie Miyoshi says he was born in Paris and raised in Venice. No idea if this applies to the anime Miyoshi as well but I went with the idea and so I searched for a European sweet that would be popular there. Meringata should be an Italian sweet but the meringues with which it’s done are popular in both Italy and France so… (oh, if you want to see pictures of it, go search for _‘Meringata alle fragole’_ there are some which are totally beautiful to watch… and well, delicious to eat also…)

**5\. Meringues, crème Chantilly and whipped cream:** In Japan they’re all called with their romanji versions メレンゲ (meringue), クレーム・シャンティイ (crème Chantilly) and ホイップクリーム (whipped cream) and therefore feel as odd words for Sakuma. Oh, if you’re wondering why Miyoshi wonders if Sakuma knows about cream, that’s the word he’s using to say cream: クリーム. Yes, it’s _‘cream’_ in Katakana. So many foreign words for you today, Sakuma… It seems that, in present days, cream is expensive in Japan and not popular so I guess it was even less common in Sakuma’s times.

**6\. Miyoshi and long explanations:** In a drama cd Kaminaga complained because Miyoshi tossed himself in an explanation about the differences between hotcakes and shortcakes.

**7\. Meringues:** Yes, Italian meringues are the hardest type of meringues to make. Ironically it seems it’s popular in France and not in Italy as Italy prefers the French meringue… that’s apparently less popular in France. Oh well…

**8\. Mikoshiba-san and Kasukabe-san:** Mikoshiba Kazuya (Kazu for short) and Kasukabe Kojiro (Koji for short) are just two OC. Although we know Sakuma had them, we’ve no info on who Sakuma’s friends from childhood and from the army were, so I had to make up a couple of _‘best friend’_ for him. Sorry about this but well, it couldn’t be helped as all the sources imply Sakuma had friends but left them unnamed.

**9\. Strawberries:** A legend has it that if you break a double strawberry in half and share it with a member of the opposite sex, you will fall in love with each other. Strawberries, in the Catholic tradition, used to represent perfection and righteousness, or the emblem of the righteous man whose fruits are good works. In Pagan traditions, the strawberry represents friendship and love. According to a North American tribe they represents rebirth. Strawberries are also classified as aphrodisiac as they’re rich in the antioxidants that will keep you looking and feeling young, vitamin C which they serve up promotes blood flow and promote the production of estrogens, magnesium, potassium and folate which support a healthy sex drive. In dreams strawberries represent sexual feelings, attraction, jealousy, enemies, passion and new love.

**10\. Odagiri:** Yes, this is placed after Odagiri left D Agency. I’m assuming Sakuma is still around, even if probably, since he was absent through Odagiri’s whole episode, he had left D Agency prior to it. But well, it’s not said so I can assume what I prefer. :P Also yes, it’s canonically stated Fukumoto got along well with Odagiri though it’s also canonically stated that Odagiri felt there was a wall between him and the others. Hence my interpretation that Fukumoto actually felt closer to Odagiri than Odagiri felt closer to Fukumoto and that, due to this, Fukumoto ended up being not involved into Odagiri’s decision… to Fukumoto’s regret. Also, Miyoshi and Odagiri argued in Ep 12 and if I look at their small interactions in the manga they don’t really seem to get along well. Maybe it’s just me though but I’ve the feeling they had a poor relation… though I don’t think that Miyoshi had something against Odagiri. He seemed to be happy Odagiri managed to solve his own graduation case. So I guess they just had communication problems. 

**11\. Tomo:** It’s unknown which one is Sakuma’s given name. As Miwa Shiro said he (and part of the cast) headcanoned the guys at D Agency to have the given names of their voice actors I went with it as well, so, since his voice actor is Seki Tomokazu (関 智一), I use as, his given name, Tomokazu, Tomo for short.

**12\. Yawarakai-Te:** According to a legend, the Yawarakai-Te (柔らかい手 "Tender Hands") was a sword Masamune (正宗), Japan's greatest sword smith who lived during the last part of the Kamakura Period (1288–1328), forged which was capable to decide what to cut and therefore not to cut through that which is innocent and undeserving. Always according to the legend, this sword had to compete in a contest with Muramasa's Juuchi Yosamu (十千夜寒 "10,000 Cold Nights"), a sword that cut everything that passed its way and that, due to it, was defined a blood thirsty, evil blade, as it does not discriminate as to who or what it will cut. In truth Masamune and Murasama never competed as they didn't live in the same time period and the whole story is just a legend.

**13\. Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (草薙の剣 "Grass-Cutting Sword") :** Originally called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (天叢雲剣, "Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven") is a legendary Japanese sword and one of three Imperial Regalia of Japan which, in folklore, represents the virtue of valour. The sword is supposedly kept at Atsuta Shrine but is not available for public display, and its existence cannot be confirmed.

**14\. Honjo (本庄):** Another sword made by Masamune which represented the Shogunate during most of the Edo period and had been passed down from one Shogun to another. It is one of the best known of the swords created by Masamune and is believed to be one of the finest Japanese swords ever made. It was made a Japanese National Treasure in 1939. Its name seems to come from the general Honjo "Echizen no kami" Shigenaga (本庄越前守重長) who gained the sword in battle. The sword got lost in 1945, at the end of the war.

**15\. Reincarnation:** No idea if Sakuma believed in reincarnation… but since Yamamoto Tsunetomo (山本 常) the writer of the **‘Hagakure’** (葉隠), a practical and spiritual guide for a warrior, did (he said he wanted to be reborn seven times as a samurai of Nabeshima) and, **‘Hagakure’** was basically the Holy Bible of how Japanese soldiers should behave in WW2 I think Sakuma could have ended up influenced by this.

**16\. Cell phones:** No, there were no cell phones that common people could own during the time in which **‘Joker Game’** was placed. The fact that Sakuma owns one is supposed to be a hint that yes, we’re in the future and the Sakuma and Miyoshi that are interacting in that bit are actually reincarnations of the Sakuma and Miyoshi we know.

**17\. Getabako and slippers:** A Getabako (下駄箱) is a shoe cupboard in Japan, usually situated in the Genkan (玄関), a traditional Japanese entryway of the house. In Japan, it is considered uncouth to not remove one's shoes before entering the house hence Miyoshi removes his shoes and wears slippers. The fact that Miyoshi has his own slippers in Sakuma's apartment it's a subtle hint he's a recurring guest.

**18\. Kaminaga and Miyoshi’s relationship:** In the 3rd drama cd in which the D Agency boys are all middle school students, Kaminaga, who dates lot of girls made fun/criticized of Miyoshi more than once and in one occurrence said he wouldn’t date a guy like him. In this fic this ended up evolving into Kaminaga growing up to say that Miyoshi wouldn’t manage to get into a stable relationship.

**19\. Sakuma and his house:** No idea how Sakuma would keep his house really. Miwa Shiro gave him a traditional house and had him sit composedly in it, but his strips aren’t canon. Still, I thought it would probably fit for Sakuma to keep his house well ordered, well cleaned and essential. Also, since I’m headcanoning him as a sword lover I gave him, as only decoration a sword stand exposing a Katana (刀 "Japanese sword), a Wakizashi (脇差 "Side inserted [sword]"), which is basically a sword shorter than a Katana, and a Tantō (短刀, "short blade") which is basically a knife. Oh and as in Joker Game he seemed to like reading I gave him books. It’s just my headcanon though.

**20\. Miyoshi, Sakuma and previous lovers:** I’m assuming they both had previous lovers before meeting each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I’m probably the only one insane enough to research on strawberries to write a fic like this one. I hate myself. -_-
> 
> This was supposed to be a short fic… it grew out of proportions and ultimately it grew so much I ended up cutting it and sparing you of reincarnate Sakuma and Miyoshi’s interaction. I think from what I left you could still get easily enough that, although they have their own up and down, they’re together and happy.


End file.
